POULSBO — Kenneth Ames admits the four-members of the North Kitsap School Board challenged him during his interview for the District 3 position, Sept. 19.

As it turns out, however, Ames did just fine.

The school board — Tom Anderson, Bill Webb, Vice President Scott Henden, and President Dan Weedin — appointed Ames with a unanimous decision Sept. 27 during the school board meeting.

Though he’s selected, Ames won’t officially be on the board until he is sworn in, which will be done at the next board meeting, Oct. 11.

Ames replaces Kathleen Dassel, who resigned Aug. 23. Dassel, the president of the board at the time, cited “constraints of family matters” as her reason for resigning.

Ames originally planned to run for the District 3 board position in the 2009 election. Citing family commitments, Ames backed out.

Now with more free time, Ames “decided to throw the hat in the ring.”

Ames moved from the South Kitsap area to Poulsbo in 2001.

Ames lived in South Kitsap since 1979. He raised three children who graduated from South Kitsap High School.

He served on the South Kitsap School Board for eight years and the state Board of Education for one year.

With his experience, he said he could skip having to learn the “jargon” that goes along with being a board member.

Ames sees declining enrollment and funding as the two biggest issues facing the North Kitsap School District. The work being done to close a school — and the committee working on it — is also an important subject, he said.

Ames works at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard as a project planning engineer.

Ames was one of four applicants. Bill Hawkes, Dennis Kilpatrick and Beth Worthington also applied.

Prior to the roll-call vote, board members expressed their appreciation for the four applicants.

“My biggest fear was that no one would apply,” Weedin said.

The board made it clear that all four candidates were well qualified. If willing, the three not appointed would be welcomed to other areas of district work, such as board appointed committees.

“Any four would do a fine job,” Anderson said.

Ames will complete Dassel’s term, which expires in December 2013. If he wishes to continue to serve, he will have to run for election. In a previous interview, Ames said if he felt like a fit with the board, he would run for election.